WRAP Funding Store Recycling Technologies

A project exploring the viability of different Front of Store Recycling and reverse vending technologies in England is being funded by the Waste & Resources Action Programme to assess the recycling potential of the retail forecourt.

WRAP will assess the impact that FOSR units at selected retail sites in England have on household waste recycling rates.

The £1.2 million project began this past March and will be completed by next April.

Contracts have been awarded to Sainsbury’s and Tesco to install, manage and carry out research on two different technological approaches to FOSR. Each retailer will introduce their technology at six of their stores with the help of Valpak and TOMRA respectively. Tesco will carry out their research at stores in Hampshire and surrounding counties, whilst Sainsbury’s will operate at sites in Greater London.

As well as the £1.2 million awarded by WRAP, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and TOMRA have all supplied resources in the form of either in-kind support or matched-level funding.

The research will assess a number of innovative and improved FOSR techniques including the use of new technology, improved facilities, and financial incentives which could be community or personal incentives. The results will help WRAP to establish how effective these different approaches could be in boosting local recycling rates and attracting new people to recycling.

It is expected that all packaging materials, such as paper, glass, cans, plastic and, in some instances, liquid cartons will be collected. The research will also provide information on the economics of collection from FOSR and any possible impact on local council collection schemes.

The results of this research will be published at the end of the project, and made publicly available.